Sasha Abramsky (2020-04-24). Once Again, Trump Shreds US Immigration Law. thenation.com Once Again, Trump Shreds US Immigration Law…

Vijay Prashad (2020-04-24). How the Chinese Authorities and the World Health Organization Handled the Coronavirus. counterpunch.org On April 14, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump addressed a news conference at the White House, where he said that his administration would \"halt [all] funding\" for the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO, founded in 1948, is the principal United Nations agency tasked with the improvement of the health of the world; it is also widely acknowledged as an agency that is best suited to deal with health emergencies.

Vijay Prashad (2020-04-24). Either socialism will defeat the louse or the louse will defeat socialism. mronline.org The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says that the Great Lockdown, which has no end date, could very well lead to a loss of $9 trillion to global Gross Domestic Product over the entirety of 2020 and 2021; this number is greater than the combined economies of Japan and Germany. This scenario, the Fund\'s managing director …

Santa Cruz News (2020-04-24). Libertarian Activist Organizes \"Re-Open\" Santa Cruz March, Calls Pandemic a Hoax. indybay.org Libertarian activist Sean Cutler is organizing a march to Santa Cruz City Hall on April 24 in support of re-opening the \"local economy\". An event listing posted to social media by Cutler promises \"speeches\" at City Hall, however it is unclear if the event is real or a stunt, as only one person is listed as attending. The event post for the march demands \"an end to the tyrannical quarantine\" and encourages participants to \"bring flags, banners, posters, and the loving spirit of freedom\". On March 16, Cutler posted on social media that the COVID-19 pandemic was, \"overblown, childish, and insane\". The pandemic is \"s…

Greta Thunberg (2020-04-24). Climate Activists Have Not Lost Hope Amid Pandemic. zcomm.org We\'re Changing How We Organize…

RT (2020-04-24). Taliban rejects call for Ramadan ceasefire in Afghanistan — spokesman. rt.com The Taliban has rejected an Afghan government call for a ceasefire for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and to let authorities focus on tackling the coronavirus, Reuters reports. | Hopes for an end to Afghanistan\'s decades of war were raised in late February when the Taliban and the US struck a deal on the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces in exchange for Taliban security guarantees. The deal did not include a ceasefire, which has been left to the US-backed government to negotiate with the insurgents. | A Taliban spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, tweeted that a ceasefire would be possible if the peace process was b…

Alex Darocy (2020-04-24). Demonstrators Demand Santa Cruz Provide Hotel Vouchers for the Homeless. indybay.org Community members in Santa Cruz organized a \"physical distancing\" protest today to demand the City and County of Santa Cruz provide hotel vouchers for the homeless during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The demonstration was organized following California Governor Gavin Newsom\'s statements made during a press conference on April 18 that cities and municipalities that are blocking the State\'s effort to provide hotels for the homeless will be \"judged\" by history.

Dave Lindorff (2020-04-24). Two Mentally Challenged Candidates to Choose Between for US President? counterpunch.org The US is hurtling into uncharted waters as a polity, with the two likely candidates for president this November both clearly suffering from significant cognitive impairment and evidence of continuing mental decline. Back in 1980, the American voters elected a man, Ronald Reagan, who unbeknownst to them already had the beginnings of Alzheimer\'s dementia. By

Ramzy Baroud (2020-04-24). A Machiavellian Fiasco: How \'Centrist\' Gantz Resurrected Netanyahu, Israel\'s Right. counterpunch.org It was intended to be a Machiavellian move, but the decision by Benny Gantz, leader of Israel\'s Kahol Lavan (Blue and White) coalition, to join a Benjamin Netanyahu-led government is likely to destabilize the political fabric of Israeli society for years to come. In a surprising move, Gantz has entered into precarious political compromises, whereby

Stephen Lendman (2020-04-24). Economic Collapse Far More Serious Than COVID-19 Contagion. globalresearch.ca The ongoing economic collapse combined with a public health crisis is unprecedented in modern memory. | The human toll from both mounts daily worldwide — a second 9/11 in new form that\'s likely to be far more devastating for ordinary people …

RT (2020-04-24). \'Death by meteorite\': Turkish researchers claim to have proof of world\'s first space-rock fatality. rt.com A group of researchers in Turkey are claiming to have come across the first credible records yet discovered of \'death by meteorite,\' dating from August 22, 1888. | They cite multiple official documents recovered from the General Directorate of State Archives of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, which detail a meteorite strike that hit and killed one man and paralyzed another, in what is now Sulaymaniyah in Iraq. | The Earth endures near-constant bombardment by assorted meteorites and space rocks, at a rate of millions per day, most of which burn up harmlessly in our atmosphere. | For context, and accor…

RT (2020-04-24). New confirmed Covid-19 cases in Germany must drop to \'few hundred a day\' before easing lockdown — senior health official. rt.com The coronavirus is still spreading too rapidly to consider lifting quarantine measures in Germany, the deputy chief of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has warned. Chancellor Merkel earlier compared the pandemic to WWII. | Health officials have reported 2,337 new cases of Covid-19 across Germany, which is still a significant increase per day, RKI\'s Vice President Lars Schaade told reporters on Friday. | \"It is necessary for the number of cases to fall to a few hundred a day, so we could consider easing the lockdown,\" Schaade said. He added that it will take \"at least two weeks\" to see whether this step will hav…

Juan Humberto Urquiza García (2020-04-24). Covid-19: the pandemic of the Great Acceleration. mronline.org Many people around the world are familiar with this ancient Chinese proverb. Today, this lovely metaphor has materialized and taken the form of a pandemic, wreaking havoc on a system where few felt safe and most had become accustomed to merely surviving.

RT (2020-04-24). Cyprus flight ban extended to May 17. rt.com Cyprus extended a ban on commercial air traffic until May 17 on Friday to curb the spread of coronavirus. | The ban was first introduced on March 21 and authorities have extended it by decree since then. It will now be extended from April 30 to May 17, Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos tweeted, citing a decision by the cabinet. | The island has recorded 795 cases of Covid-19 and 13 deaths as a direct result of the virus, according to data from the Health Ministry released on Thursday. | The country has imposed restrictions on movement, including a night curfew and allowing people to leave their homes only on…

Eds. (2020-04-24). Trump was given \'realtime updates\' over Covid-19 as the pandemic developed. mronline.org More than a dozen health experts working for the WHO in Geneva relayed regular information to Mr Trump about COVID-19, U.S. and international officials have confirmed.

RT (2020-04-24). China reports recovery of last severe Covid-19 patient in ground-zero city Wuhan. rt.com The last patient in Wuhan with severe Covid-19 has been cured, a health official has declared. The now-global disease was first detected in the Chinese city. | The patient, who was the last person in Wuhan and the whole of Hubei Province to experience difficulty overcoming the virus, was released from hospital on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a spokesman for the Chinese National Health Commission. | By Friday morning, there were 47 confirmed Covid-19 patients in the province, including the sole remaining serious patient. No new confirmed or suspected cases have been reported in the province in so…

RT (2020-04-24). \'No turning back\': Duterte threatens martial law after soldiers ambushed and killed during Covid-19 aid delivery. rt.com The Philippines\' president, Rodrigo Duterte, accused communist rebels of disrupting the government\'s efforts to help its citizens amid the Covid-19 pandemic. He said he is seriously considering imposing martial law. | \"I\'m warning everybody, and putting the armed forces and the police on notice, that I might declare martial law. There will be no turning back,\" Duterte said on Friday, threatening to take swift action against the Communist New People\'s Army (NPA), which has been active in the country since the late 1960s. | \"I have two more years. I will try to finish all of you — including you, the legal […

RT (2020-04-24). Crawl away if you dare? Indian official to be disciplined after cases filed against BABY & 3yo among lockdown violators. rt.com A city official in India has been admonished for cracking down on coronavirus lockdown offenders with perhaps a bit too much zeal, after a six-month-old baby and a toddler faced legal action for supposedly flouting the rules. | The punishment will be doled out to the town\'s Covid-19 magistrate after the two youths were hit with complaints, ANI reported, a discovery made after the District Magistrate for the town of Uttarkashi ordered an investigation into the bizarre incident. | Uttarakhand: Disciplinary&suspension action to be taken against COVID19 magistrate Uttarkashi over registration of a case under Juvel…

RT (2020-04-24). WHO adds 9 candidates for Covid-19 vaccine developed in Russia to global trial list. rt.com Russian scientists have developed nine possible Covid-19 vaccines to be used in a global trial backed by the World Health Organization (WHO). All nine are currently at a preclinical evaluation stage. | Vector, a Novosibirsk-based infectious diseases lab, produced six of the nine Russian submissions included on the WHO trial list. Its proposals are derived from platforms for treating Ebola, influenza and other viral infections. | The three other possible vaccines came from St. Petersburg and were developed by two research institutes and a major Russian biopharmaceutical company. They worked solo to make two of…

RT (2020-04-24). European markets sink on worries over EU stimulus, coronavirus drug delay. rt.com Stock markets in Europe opened lower on Friday as traders focused on the continued lockdown across the continent and reports that a study into a potential Covid-19 treatment was halted following inconclusive results. | The pan-European STOXX 600 was down more than one percent during early trading, with all sectors and major bourses in negative territory. German DAX, France\'s CAC 40 and Britain\'s FTSE 100 were losing around one percent during afternoon trading on Friday. | Asian markets were also broadly lower, with South Korea\'s Kospi Index leading the region\'s losses, down 1.4 percent. | The global markets\' s…

RT (2020-04-24). Global coronavirus death toll passes 190,000 — AFP tally. rt.com The global pandemic hit a grim new milestone on Friday, according to AFP, as the number of people who have lost their lives to the disease passed 190,00 and continues to rise, while countries battle to keep their populations safe. | The agency reports that a total of 190,089 people have passed away and 2,698,733 have been confirmed as infected since Covid-19 emerged in China in December. Europe has recorded the highest number of fatalities, with 116,221 people dying across the continent. | More than 1.2 million Europeans have been diagnosed with the disease, putting the mortality rate around 8.9 percent. | The…

RT (2020-04-24). US coronavirus fatalities jump as over 3,000 die in 24 hours in 2nd deadliest Covid-19 day nationwide. rt.com The US has reported over 3,100 fatalities related to the coronavirus pandemic within just 24 hours, as lethal cases leapt by more than 1,000 after a brief drop. The figures come as the nation slowly reopens. | Some 3,176 people died after having been infected with the coronavirus in the US in the space of a single day, Johns Hopkins University reported Thursday. The staggering number fell short of breaking the record for the most daily coronavirus deaths in the US — which still stands at 4,591 — but the lethal cases soared in comparison to the previous day, when \"only\" 1,738 fatalities were recorded.

Eds. (2020-04-24). Trump, coronavirus, and climate change: using a pandemic to gut the EPA. mronline.org Under the guise of protecting workers and the public from the coronavirus, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced two weeks ago that it will not issue fines against companies that violate certain water, air, and hazardous-waste-reporting requirements.

RT (2020-04-24). The oil market crash is far from over. rt.com US crude benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices may have steadied somewhat after a wild couple of days, but the physical market for crude is still collapsing. | Energy stocks posted sharp gains on Thursday as WTI prices \"surged\" nearly 30 percent to…$17 per barrel. The nascent rebound in oil prices has eased the immediate crisis, but before Monday, WTI in the teens would have been considered catastrophic; now it seems downright reasonable. Amazing what negative $37 WTI will do to perceptions. | But the fact is that the global oil industry is still in dire straits. Refined products are grossly oversup…

RT (2020-04-24). Beijing says world \'should condemn\' cyberattacks on anti-pandemic institutions. rt.com China said on Friday that cyberattacks against institutions fighting the coronavirus pandemic should be condemned around the world. | Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang made the remarks, commenting on a report by the US cybersecurity firm FireEye. | It had alleged that Vietnamese government-linked hackers had attempted to break into the personal and professional email accounts of staff at China\'s Ministry of Emergency Management and the government of Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus emerged last year. | Vietnam\'s Foreign Ministry on Thursday called the report \"baseless.\" Geng did not comment directl…

RT (2020-04-24). \'Fast recovery\' possible as Hungary scraps curfew from early May, Orban says. rt.com Hungary plans to replace its current lockdown, which has imposed a blanket curfew on the population, with a more fine-tuned version from early May, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday. | Orban told state radio that he expected the economy to recover rapidly from the effects of the pandemic. \"I am not among the most optimistic people, but neither am I a pessimist,\" he told state radio. \"I expect a fast recovery.\" | The month-long nationwide lockdown has destroyed tens of thousands of jobs in the country, and Orban said re-establishing these was his top priority. From next month, restrictions will be grad…

RT (2020-04-24). China to ask \'Questions to Heaven\' with country\'s 1st mission to Mars later this year. rt.com China\'s space agency has announced the title for the country\'s inaugural mission to Mars. Tianwen-1, which translates roughly to \"Questions to Heaven,\" is expected to set off for Mars later in 2020. | The mission is to launch a Mars probe at some point later in 2020 while hoping for the trifecta of interplanetary exploration: orbiting, landing and roving all in a single mission. | The China National Space Administration (CNSA) used the country\'s annual Space Day, which began in 2016 as a means of celebrating the anniversary of the successful launch of China\'s first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 in 1970, as an oppo…

sputniknews (2020-04-24). Assange\'s Lawyers to Ask Court to Postpone Extradition Hearing. sputniknews.com LONDON (Sputnik) – The lawyers of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will ask the court next week to postpone the activist\'s extradition hearing, a statement by the campaign against Assange\'s extradition to the United States said Friday.

RT (2020-04-24). No-deal Brexit would be extra shock on top of coronavirus crisis — French minister. rt.com The new coronavirus outbreak crisis does not change European priorities in the Brexit negotiations, French European Affairs Minister Amelie de Montchalin said on Friday. | She also told a French Senate hearing that a no-deal Brexit would be an extra shock on top of the Covid-19 crisis, but Britain would suffer the most, Reuters reported. | The UK government has repeatedly insisted it has no plans to extend…

Jeffrey St. Clair (2020-04-24). Roaming Charges: Killing Yourself to Live. counterpunch.org + Neoliberalism: an ideology of austerity, which contends that economics is a science and epidemiology is soothsaying. + One of the eternal axioms of American politics: When you don\'t know anything claim that you\'re right about everything and wrong about nothing. + This strategy pays off, time and time again. Consider that 3.5 years into

Sam Hitt (2020-04-24). A Light Against the Darkness. counterpunch.org Bernie Sanders claimed to have won the war of ideas in his unsuccessful quest for the Democratic Presidential nomination by introducing new concepts like class struggle to our political vocabulary and making universal health care and debt-free higher education subject to mainstream debate. If this is victory, then we have a long road ahead. America

sputniknews (2020-04-24). Biden Suggests Trump May Make Attempt to \'Kick Back\' 2020 Presidential Election. sputniknews.com Joe Biden remains the last presidential hopeful to challenge incumbent Donald Trump in the 3 November elections, after Senator Bernie Sanders wrapped up his bid for the Democratic Party\'s nomination earlier in April.

M.G. (2020-04-24). I Believe Tara Reade for the Reasons You Don\'t. counterpunch.org George Orwell wrote in his novel, 1984: \"If you want to keep a secret, you must hide it from yourself.\" There is a credible rape accusation against Joe Biden, a Democratic candidate for President of the United States. Again, with emphasis, there is a credible rape accusation against the man the Democratic Party\'s preferred choice

Jim Hightower (2020-04-24). The Deadly Economic Disease Behind COVID-19. zcomm.org While we\'re waiting in endless lines at food banks and unemployment offices, the elites sit in posh executive suites, still getting fat paychecks, total health care and platinum-level pampering…

WSWS (2020-04-24). Tyson poultry workers in Tennessee speak out on terrible health and safety conditions. wsws.org Workers describe a regime in the plant in Shelbyville, Tennessee where they are intimidated into silence over lax enforcement of health and safety even as COVID-19 is spreading widely.

WSWS (2020-04-24). COVID-19 deaths in Scotland 79 percent higher than official figures. wsws.org The impact of this deadly policy has fallen overwhelmingly on the poor, densely populated areas in deindustrialised centres of the working class.

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-04-24). Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast: Mayo Clinic Laboratories launches serology testing. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org A new serology test from Mayo Clinic Laboratories is being used to identify the presence of immune response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The serology test is intended only to detect antibodies to the virus. It does not diagnose recent or active infection. Mayo Clinic Laboratories also offers a molecular test to diagnose very recent …

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-04-24). When patients with COVID-19 need intensive care support. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Many people who contract COVID-19 will have mild symptoms, but for others those symptoms may be severe and lead to hospitalization. Some of the most common complications from severe COVID-19 include respiratory problems like pneumonia, hypoxemic respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Dr. Daniel Brown, director of critical care medicine at Mayo Clinic, says these patients with severe illness …

en.mehrnews (2020-04-24). COVID-19 infects over 2.7mn people worldwide with 191K deaths. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Apr. 24 (MNA) — The worldwide death toll from the new coronavirus has surpassed 191,000 with about 2.7 million cases and more than 749,000 recoveries, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally.

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-04-24). COVID-19: Mayo Clinic expert on what it\'s going to take to reopen the US. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Widespread stay-at-home efforts have forced many businesses to close during the COVID-19 pandemic. As talk of reopening the economy ramps up across the U.S., Dr. Gregory Poland, a Mayo Clinic COVID-19 expert, answers questions about what it\'s going to take to get to that point. Watch: Dr. Gregory Poland answers questions on reopening after COVID-19 …

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-04-24). Infographic: Understanding COVID-19 testing. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org For the latest updates on the COVID-19 pandemic, check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. For more information and COVID-19 coverage, go to the Mayo Clinic News Network and mayoclinic.org.

Eve Ottenberg (2020-04-24). The World\'s Most Unfair Health Care System. counterpunch.org The elephant in the Covid-19 infected room is Medicare for All. Maybe it really, finally is time for it. With at least 26 million people suddenly unemployed and many of those losing their health coverage during a deadly plague — how are people supposed to pay for a doctor if they get sick? And many

Louis Proyect (2020-04-24). Smithfield and Our Troubled Future. counterpunch.org In 2009, there were suspicions that a Smithfield plant in Perote, Mexico might have triggered the Swine Flu epidemic. It was small potatoes compared to COVID-19. Only 1000 people were infected, with 68 deaths. The Mexico City newspaper La Jornada quoted health officials who concluded that the original carrier was in the \"clouds of flies\" that thrived in Smithfield\'s manure lagoons.

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-04-24). Mitigating risk of hand injuries during COVID-19. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in another type of patient coming to the emergency departments. Dr. Sanjeev Kakar, a Mayo Clinic orthopedic surgeon, says as a result of stay-at-home guidelines that have kept many adults and children home, there\'s been an increase of patients with injuries from household accidents, including more kitchen knife cuts and lacerations, table …

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-04-24). Mayo Clinic Q and A: Combating allergies, asthma during COVID-19. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I have significant pollen allergies and asthma. In the spring, I usually have sneezing, coughing and an occasional sore throat that coincides with the trees blooming. With COVID-19 concerns, I am wondering if I am at any increased risk for the virus or need to be concerned that I should be tested? …

Henry Giroux — Ourania Filippakou (2020-04-24). Militarization in a Time of Pandemic Crisis. counterpunch.org We live at a time when the terrors of life suggests the world has descended into darkness. The COVID-19 crisis has created a dystopian nightmare which floods our screens and media with images of fear. Bodies, doorknobs, cardboard packages, plastic bags, and the breath we exhale and anything else that offers the virus a resting place is comparable to a bomb ready to explode resulting in massive suffering and untold deaths. We can no longer shake hands, embrace our friends, use public transportation, sit in a coffee shop, or walk down the street without experiencing real anxiety and fear. We are told by politicians…

WSWS (2020-04-24). Tens of thousands of Nepali workers stranded abroad by COVID-19 disaster. wsws.org Nepal has a population of 28 million but so far only 8,763 people have been tested for the virus.

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-04-24). Mayo Clinic Q and A: Myths and facts about COVID-19. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I have read many conflicting things about COVID-19, including how it spreads from person to person and how I might be able to reduce my risk of getting sick. Can you help me understand whether some things I\'ve heard are myth or fact because I do not want to spread the virus …

newsnetwork.mayoclinic (2020-04-24). How to safely care for someone with COVID-19 in your household. newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org Most people who get sick with COVID-19 should be able to recover at home without the need for hospitalization. Because of that, it\'s important to know what to do if someone in your household becomes infected. How can someone give that patient the care he or she needs without putting others in the household at …

imperial.ac.uk (2020-04-24). Coronavirus \'map\' identifies key virus entry points into the body. imperial.ac.uk Scientists are creating map of the human body to identify locations where the COVID-19 virus can enter human cells.